Weiner auction live feed

[richard]

but- theres no logic to the prices is there ? surely the Bruetsch Rollera is much more stylish, rare and just as useable

[Stuart Cyphus]

 At this point I'd like to say a public "Thank You" to Jim for spending most of his time at the auction chained to his Lap-top giving us the results live as they happened. With RM's video stream on one screen and Jim's list & comments on the other, I certainly enjoyed the proceedings anyway!  

[Grant Kearney]

Totally agree with you Stuart.  Many thanks Jim for all your efforts over the last few days which has kept the Microcar world amused and in many cases shocked 
Time for a rest Jim whilst we try and work out what this all means for our hobby.
I am off to buy another Bond tomorrow as they are now too cheap not to buy 

[Bob Purton]

Bob what were you saying about the replica peels liquidating the market. £77.000 in all !!!!!!!!

I know Jamie. Try puting yours on ebay and see what you get!

[Bob Purton]

BW is certainly laughing!

Maybe he's crying... all depends what prompted the sale!  

Touché Sir!

Yeh, I'm pretty touche too when he has just sold my Inter for  $140,000 !
And who's going to give me $140,000 for my current Inter, Rarer model with the  lowest surviving chassis number? Any takers? NO thought not. The whole thing is ridiculous!

[NickPoll]

The Tiger sold to Russia for $280,000, so mine is now for sale for $250,000 including a bottle of vodka, must be a bargain !         Nick.

[Big Al]

Need to see the full figures and do the statistics to pull out useful facts from this lot but once again it shows the need for a car collection to be presented well and in enough quantity to generate its own market, much like a firestorm of bombs is more intense than a carpet of them scattered loosely about. Meanwhile the rest of the world ticks along and the fall out will dim the sun a bit, obscuring where we are.

The net effect has to be a bit of a rise in prices I imagine. That and a fair few new folk entering the scene. What does come across, though, is the need for cars to be complete and good looking unless they are heading to the serious collector, who will more often than not have a restricted budget in mind that can be considerably less than those looking to market might now wish to be looking for. So there could be a period of stand off there. The enthusiast could be left to build a car out of a rusty hulk as that is all he can afford. Without the required skills even that will be rather expensive.

The Tiger just had to re establish its position of chief looney tune. So the guy who was sniffing my project car will be a bit miffed he did not go for it now! Truly these have become rich men's toys and jolly good luck to them, but I cannot afford to play really. That said I am happy to own most of the cars at the prices I bought them. A potentially slightly ridiculous situation. Perhaps IC are the cheaper arena folk are looking for. That or French Fridges. Both are microesque.

[Rusty Chrome (Malcolm Parker)]

Yeah right whatever

[Bob Purton]

I wonder how many of the new owners will update the Rumcars register if the lot they bought was on it?
Not many I would guess if they have been bought by millionaire investors which does beg the question, how good an investment are those top end buys? It could be many many years before the true street values catch up with what they have paid. Or maybe they are not for investment, just the whim of the seriously wealthy and the price just doesn't matter?   

I'm told my name was mentioned by the auctioneer as the person who restored the Inter before the bidding started, you would think that would have put folk off!      Now which would I prefer, the restoration acknowledgement or the $160,000 ? Oooo that's a difficult one! 

[jean-do]

yep !! first have to thank www.microcar.org/blog/microcar-museum-auction-live-coverage ; that gives us time prices, and link to live cam ... it was funny to ear the auctionner ,during two long days talking and talking..." 1 million and thirty ?? 1 million and forty thank you ... bla bla bla ...." he must be thursty now !! ^^
then happy to see that all cars have " new daddys" ... happy to imagine i'm now a millionnaire ...Mochet, velam, Vespa 400 ( 2 and a standard rare one $$) and and and INTER yeesssss !!! .but as i'm not seller till i'm alive, i' will stay the guy i've still be ... living for those microcars trying to drive them, ready for biennale Bisbi National Rally .....
may be 2014 will see all those new owners for our rally !! wow will have to change my security staff to military staff because of robbers ! ^^
sad now because each seller will get prices against that auction , and next inter will be a spacial microcar to high for us to see !!
and now Mr Weiner is a milliardaire ( or closer too??) what will he collect now
how can he live without his toys or " babys " ?? i couldn't ...
smile at guys now when they' ll spite you " rich man with microcar" ..... tell them :  YYEEEEEEESSSSSS !!! ^^

[Jim Janecek]

Anyone else think this is a load of old nonsense. Whoever is bidding clearly hasn't got the slightest clue about what they're buying as not only is everything massively overvalued, but the relative prices of each lot are all totally out of wack. I guess if money's no object it's better than leaving it sat in the bank, but like the coke van, it's all a bit of a joke really.

The same person bought the Reyonnah, the Inter, the Kroboth, the P.Valle, the Fuldamobil S7, and I forget what else at the moment.
He is new to this and very interested in the cars from a design and historical perspective.
I am fairly certain he will be registering them with RUM as well.
He knew that he was bidding against an unknown Russian bidder but still managed to acquire some of the nicest cars there.
He knew exactly what he was buying and was fully aware that the prices were stupid. But he truly loved those cars and wanted them.
They were not purchases as investments. (By him at least)

Lane Motor Museum also acquired a nice selection of really good additions that will now be seen by many more people.

[Bob Purton]

Thanks for that snippet Jim. Its good to know that at least that buyer has good taste as well as pots of money! Will those cars be staying in America? I would love for my ex Inter to have been coming back to Europe but think that unlikely, still by your account it nearly ended up in Russia!  If he wants any infomation on the Inter he is welcome to contact me.  It would be interesting to know if any of the lots were coming to the uk.

[Rusty Chrome (Malcolm Parker)]

Thanks Jim, that is a little bit reassuring. The one thing I didn't want is for these cars to be shrink-wrapped in airtight cocoons and then hidden away in some darkened storage facility somewhere never to see the light of day. As well as issues with insurance and security, the problem with such auction prices is whether it deters other owners from using their vehicles and those of us with more constrained finances from having an opportunity to see such rare vehicles actually being used as intended.

[Jim Janecek]

The cars I just mentioned will be staying in the USA, I know you are all thrilled with that news... 
The same person also got the Fuji Cabin.
I'm sure he will be contacting you Bob.  I doubt he will be posting anything here, but who knows?

There are a LOT of stories to be told from this event, and while I enjoy a good bit of gossip as much as the next person, I have tried to focus on the good things that have come out of this. 

[blob]

I have tried to focus on the good things that have come out of this.

Recent events got me thinking, when was the last time I ever saw a vintage micro parked up overnight, the answer 2000!

If people believe the hype, they're only safe tucked away out of sight, or in a convoy at a rally. When will it become too much a risk to leave them in the street when popping down the shops, as I know many of you do, has the auction changed your opinion about doing just that?